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MediaCityUK
MediaCityUK is a 200-acre (81 ha) mixed-use property development site on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford and Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The project is being developed by Peel Media, and its principal tenants are media organisations and the University of Salford. The land occupied by the development was part of the Port of Manchester and Manchester Docks. The BBC signalled its intention to move jobs to Manchester in 2004, and the Salford Quays site was chosen in 2006. The Peel Group was granted planning permission to develop the site in 2007, and construction of the development, with its own energy generation plant and communications network, began the same year. Based in Quay House, the principal tenant is the BBC, whose move marks a large-scale decentralisation from London. ITV Studios UK and international television production company ITV Granada completed the first phase of its move to MediaCityUK in March 2013. The Studios on Broadway houses seven high-definition studios, claimed to be the largest such facility in Europe. MediaCityUK is to be developed in two phases. The 36-acre (15 ha) first phase was completed in 2011, and the second is dependent on its success. Metrolink, Greater Manchester's light-rail system, was extended to MediaCityUK with the opening of the MediaCityUK Metrolink station on 20 September 2010 and further extensions are planned. Road access was improved by the construction of Broadway Link Road. Location Salford Quays, at the eastern end of the Manchester Ship Canal on the site of the former Manchester Docks, became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom after the closure of the dockyards in 1982.1 It forms part of an area known as The Quays, a joint tourism initiative between Salford City Council and Trafford Borough Council, which also encompasses Trafford Wharf and Old Trafford, on the Manchester side of the ship canal. As well as Salford Quays, The Quays development includes The Lowry Arts Centre and the Imperial War Museum North.2 A total of 200 acres (81 ha) of land have been earmarked for the development of MediaCityUK.3 The first phase of MediaCityUK's development was primarily focused on a 36-acre (15 ha) site at Pier 9 of Salford Quays.4 In 2010 it was announced that an ITV production centre would be built on Trafford Wharf in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford.5 Background In 2003 reports emerged that, as part of the plans for the renewal of its Royal Charter, the BBC was considering moving whole channels or strands of production from London to Manchester.6 Early discussions involved a plan where the BBC would move to a new media village proposed by Granada Television at its Bonded Warehouse site at Granada Studios in the city.78 Proposals to relocate 1,800 jobs to Manchester were unveiled by BBC Director General, Mark Thompson, in December 2004. The BBC justified the move as its spending per head was low in Manchester, it had low approval ratings in the north and its facilities at New Broadcasting House needed replacing.910 An initial list of 18 sites was narrowed to a short-list of four during 2005, two in Manchester – one at Quay Street, close to Granada Studios, and one on Whitworth Street and two in Salford – one close to the Manchester Arena and one at Pier 9 on Salford Quays.11 The site at Salford Quays was chosen in June 2006 and the move north was conditional on a satisfactory licence fee settlement from the government.12 The chosen site was the last undeveloped site at Manchester Docks, an area that had been subject to considerable investment and was emerging as a tourist destination, residential and commercial centre. The vision of the developers Peel Group, Salford City Council, the Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company and the Northwest Regional Development Agency was to create a significant new media city capable of competing on a global scale with developments in Copenhagen and Singapore.3 Salford City Council granted planning consent for an outline application for a multi-use development on the site involving residential, retail and studio and office space in October 200613 and consent for a detailed planning application followed in May 2007.14 In the same month, the BBC Trust approved moving five London-based departments to the development.15 The departments to be moved were Sport, Children's, Learning, Future Media and Technology and Radio Five Live.16 Construction started in 2007 with the site owner, Peel Group as developer and Bovis Lend Lease as contractor.17 The media facilities opened in stages from 2007. The first facility being the Pie Factory, which was located in a refurbished bakery. It featured three large sound stages suitable for drama productions and commercials.1819 In January 2011 Peel Media received planning permission to convert on-site offices used by Bovis Lend Lease during the construction of the first phase into the Greenhouse.20 The first trial show took place in November 2010 in Studio HQ2.21 The half-hour test show featured a power failure and a fire drill, which involved a full evacuation of the audience and crew. The first programme filmed at MediaCityUK was Don't Scare the Hare in February 2011, and the first to transfer was A Question of Sport, the same month. BBC employees started transferring to the development in May 2011, a process that took 36 weeks. BBC Director General Mark Thompson confirmed that up to a further 1,000 jobs could be created or transferred to the site. In January 2012 the BBC was accused of not supporting the community by MP, Hazel Blears, after it was reported that only 26 of 680 jobs created at the development had gone to residents of Salford. Channel 4 has expressed an interest in moving some activities to MediaCityUK The BBC has stated that either BBC One or BBC Two could move to MediaCityUK by 2015 if the confirmed moves are successful. History with Blue Peter The final edition of Blue Peter to broadcast from the BBC's Television Centre in London, was broadcast on 28 June 2011, before a move to the BBC's new facilities at MediaCityUK in Salford. The set left behind at BBC Television Centre was subsequently purchased and installed at Sunderland University's David Puttnam Media Centre in August 2013. Category:Places